December 10th

At approximately 6:30 a.m. today the Lincoln Parish Fire Department responded to a structure fire on Elam Street off of Beacon Light Road.
Reportedly, LPFD requested help from the Ruston Fire Department as well as Choudrant Volunteer Fire Department to assist in putting out the house fire.
There were no injuries reported during the fire.
As of press time, firefighters were still on the scene, and more in depth information was unavailable.

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When one looks at Kris Hood, they first see a strong, young man. After spending a few minutes with him, one will see that his right hand is impaired. But, don’t let that cause the assumption that he is handicapped because of it. He has a job, and is a volunteer for the Lincoln Parish Fire District No. 1. He leads a busy life regardless of any impairment he might have.
Hood, 21, said he has lived in Louisiana his entire life.
“I am originally from Saline,” Hood said. “I moved to Ruston a few years ago just for a change in scenery.”

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Louisiana Treasurer John Kennedy said Monday he will try again in 2014 to convince lawmakers to approve a 10 percent reduction in state consulting contracts.
But the new bill will have an added twist: The roughly $526 million in annual savings will be dedicated to higher education.
The revamped legislation is Kennedy’s latest move in his fight against what he calls the “nonsense” of millions of taxpayer dollars allocated each year to questionable contracts and nongovernmental organizations.

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OKLAHOMA CITY — Devon Energy has again made The Civic 50, Bloomberg Businessweek’s definitive list of the most community-minded companies in the nation.
Now in its second year, The Civic 50 is a comprehensive ranking of corporations that best use their time, talent and resources to improve the quality of life in the communities where they do business.
“As business leaders, we have an important responsibility to help identify problems and pursue opportunities to improve the quality of life in our community,” Dave Hager, Devon Energy chief operating officer, said.

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State audit cites failure to return almost $15k from university dropouts

GRAMBLING (AP) — Grambling State University could be sanctioned or have its access to federal financial aid programs terminated, after it failed to return nearly $15,000 in funds that went to students who dropped out of school.
Around 90 percent of students at the historically black university receive some kind of aid, including federal Title IV funds like Pell Grants and Stafford Loans. If a student drops out, the school and student are required to refund a proportionate amount of this aid to the U.S. Department of Education.

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WAVELAND, Miss. (AP) — Waveland police have arrested the father in the death of his baby girl in August.
Police Chief David Allen said 31-year-old Oren Lewis is charged with capital murder. Municipal Court Judge Preston J. Mauffray set bond Monday at $1 million.
Lewis is charged in the Aug. 25 death of 23-month-old Maleah Bush Lewis, of Waveland.
The girl died after Lewis reportedly told police she had fallen from a bed while she was asleep.

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This year, with the help of kind Lincoln Parish residents, 500 families will be able to sit down to a Christmas ham dinner they wouldn’t have had otherwise.
For the past six years, the Rotary Club of Lincoln, in conjunction with Christ Community Action, Super 1 Foods and the Ruston-Lincoln Community Foundation, has worked to raise funds to help families that likely wouldn’t have had a nice holiday meal otherwise.
Chris Turner, director of Ruston’s Super 1 Foods, said he came up with the idea when he took over the store.

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For newly-hired Grambling State football coach, it’s all about the W.I.N.
W.I.N. as in “What’s Important now.”
Fobbs, who was announced as Grambling’s new head coach last week and introduced during a Monday press conference at the Eddie G. Robnson Museum on the GSU campus, said that’s the core philosophy he’ll use as he takes on the task of rebuilding the school’s football program, which has won only two games the past two seasons.

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The Louisiana Tech soccer team experienced many highs and lows in 2013 which was predictable with a roster of 18 freshmen and only one senior.
Despite the vast amount of youth and inexperience, the Lady Techsters came together to produce a 9-10-1 record and came within one win of reaching the Conference USA tournament in their first season in the competitive league.

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